Tension device



TENS ION DEVICE Filed March 15, 1924 15701972757 fwbnslglenmimGr ohdafii v6 am.

Patented Jan. 28, 1930 UNITED srarss HANS Hanan: c. snowman, on cmoaeo, Inmnors, AssreNon To was'raan nanorarc COMJPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YOR TENSION Application filed March 15,

This invention relates to a tension device and more particularly to an improved mechanism for maintaining a moving strand under a uniform tension.

An object of this invention is to provide a mechanism which will act very speedily to take up slack in a moving strand, thereby maintaining said. strand under a substantially uniform tension.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear in the following description, and will be particularly pointed out in the-appended claim.

in accordance with the general features and objects of this invention, there is provided a plurality of members, each of which carries a roller at its extremity over which th moving strand is guided. Common means is provided for placing said members under tension and for causing them to exert equal pressures in opposite directions and at separated points on said moving strand, thereby removing any slack therein and maintaining the strand under a substantially uniform tension.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention, I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a twisting machine with mechanism embodying this invention mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view partly in section of the mechanism constituting this invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

The invention is illustrated as applied to a twisting machine of the type shown in Patent No. 1,263,405, issued April 23, 1918. to H. H. C. Groudahl. in which the operating elements are mounted in a frame consisting of a base 10, two uprights 11 and an upper cross rail 12. Wire supply reels 13 and 14 are mounted on a stationary pedestal 15 around which revolves a tubular yoke 16. Strands 17 and 18, drawn from supply reels 13 and 1 1 respectively, are led downwardly through a guide or mouthpiece 19 in the support 15,

. over an idler pulley 20, through one side of the tubular yoke 16, and over another idler pulley 21 from which they are passed over a pulley 22 mounted on the top of the ma K, N. Y., A. CGRPQRATIQN 915 NEW YQRE navroa ieae. Serial a e. as? see.

chine immediately over the pulley 21.

A double twist is given to the strands 17 and 18, one as they leave the'guide 19 and pass over the pulley 20, and another as they leave the pulley 21 and pass over the pulley 22.

The strand 23 thus twisted, is wrapped a number of times around a capstan 2 1 driven by common means (not shown), fed over an idler pulley 25 and then wrapped once over a back twist pulley (not shown), mounted within a housing 26, which is suitably supported on the upper cross rail 12 of the main frame. The construction and function of the back twist pulley is fully disclosed in Patent No. 1,436,312, issued November 21, 1922, to H. H. C. Grondahl, and forms no part of this invention. It is therefore thought that a further detailed description is unnecessary.

The mechanism constituting this invention, which is designated as a whole in the drawings by the reference numeral 30, is suitably supported in a bracket 31 which is secured to the upper cross rail 12 by machine screws 32. A pair of levers 33 are keyed to a shaft 34: which is revolva-bly mounted in the bracket 31. A roller 43 is carried in one end of the levers 33, and balancing weights 53 are carried at the other ends thereof. A sleeve is loosely mounted on the shaft 34 between the levers 33 and has keyed thereto a second pair of levers 36 carrying a roller 11 at their extremity. A Y shaped collar 37 is loosely mounted around hubs 38 and 39 formed in the levers 33 and 36, respectively. The periphery of the collar 37 is provided with a plurality of holes 40, each of which may receive a set screw 41 carried by a flange 4-2 formed in the levers 36. A spiral spring 45 encircles the collar 37 and has one end secured thereto by screws 46. I The other end of the spring 45 is rigidly secured to a flanged portion 47 formed in the levers 33, the spring beingtensioned in such a manner that it tends to rotate levers 36 in a clockwise direction and levers 33 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, the rollers 43 and 44 being, however, normally maintained in substantial alignment by the tension of the strand 23. The tension and inserting it in either of the other holes 40.

The operation is as follows:

The strand 23, after leaving the housing 26, is passed under the roller 44, carried at the ends of levers 36, and then over the roller 43, carried at the ends of levers 33, from which it is guided to a suitable reeling mechanism 50. The reeling mechanism 50 may be of the type disclosed in Patent No. 1,393,286, issued October-'11, 1921 to W. F. Hosford, wherein the strand is automatically transferred from a take-up reel which has been filled to an empty take-up reel without stopping the machine. The tension device above described is of particular advantage in connection with this type of reeling mechanism, because it quickly removes whatever slack is introduced by transferring from one take-up reel to another.

The levers 36 and roller 44 are so proportioned that they may pass through between the levers 33 without contacting with the same. As both levers 33 and levers 36 are pivotally mounted, they are capable of moving to such positions as to take up a substantial amount of slack in the strand 23. As shown in Fig. 1, the pulleys 43 and 44 are substantially in alignment, 'but if slack occurs in the strand they are moved by spring 45 to new relative positions, wherein roller 43 is above the normal position of roller 44, and roller 44 is approximately on a level with the normal position of roller 43.

Although there is herein shown and described one particular embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the principles involved may take various other forms without departing from the general scope of the invention which should be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a twisting machine having a twisting member and a reeling mechanism, means for passing twisted strands from said twisting member to said reeling mechanism, a pair of resiliently mounted bifurcated members intermediate said twisting member-and said reeling mechanism, a pulley carried by each of said resiliently mounted bifurcated members, a pivot common to the members, and a spiral spring surrounding the pivot with each of its ends fastened to one of the members for placing said members under equal tension and for causing the pulleys to act in opposite directions and at separated points upon the said twisted strands so as to maintain them under a substantially uniform tension.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 29th day of February, A. D. 1924.

HANS HENRIK C. GRONDAHL. 

